# Our Beloved Summer (2021) Review: Exes Back on Camera > Our Beloved Summer reunites two exes for a sequel to the school documentary that made them viral, a gentle 16-episode Korean romance about growing up. Canonical: https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/our-beloved-summer-review/ Published: 2026-07-25 Last updated: 2026-09-24 Author: Kaiser Khan — Founder & Editor Language: English Review basis: direct-viewing Spoilers: none Rating: 4/5 ## Verdict Yes. It is a warm, beautifully observed second-chance romance for viewers who like slow, low-stakes K-dramas, though its gentle pace will test anyone wanting drama. ## Is Our Beloved Summer worth watching? **Yes. Our Beloved Summer is a tender, perceptive romance that treats a failed relationship as something to understand rather than simply fix, and Choi Woo-shik and Kim Da-mi are wonderful company throughout.** The series finds humour and ache in the way two people who once knew each other completely try to make sense of what went wrong. The reservation is pace: this is a quiet, conversational drama with few big events, and its middle episodes drift. ## What is Our Beloved Summer about? Ten years ago, a television crew filmed a documentary about two high school classmates at opposite ends of the rankings: Choi Ung, who came last in every exam, and Kook Yeon-su, the top student determined to escape poverty through hard work. The documentary has now resurfaced online as a viral hit, and the producers want a follow-up. There is a problem. After the cameras stopped rolling, Ung and Yeon-su dated for five years, broke up badly and vowed never to see each other again. The new film forces them back into the same frame, with their old friend Kim Ji-ung now behind the camera. [Our Beloved Summer](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/our-beloved-summer/) is a South Korean series in Korean, written by Lee Na-eun. Choi Woo-shik plays Ung, now a successful illustrator, and Kim Da-mi plays Yeon-su, a hard-driving professional, with Kim Sung-cheol as Ji-ung and Roh Jeong-eui and Park Jin-joo in supporting roles. This review covers the complete series: one season of 16 episodes, which aired from December 2021 into 2022. ## A documentary frame that sharpens the romance The premise is clever. By making the leads subjects of a documentary, the series gives itself a natural device for confession and evasion. Characters speak to the camera, perform for it, and then say something entirely different once it stops rolling. Flashbacks to high school and to their years together are woven in with the present-day filming, so the history of the relationship is pieced together gradually, like evidence. That structure turns a standard second-chance romance into something more reflective. The show is interested in how memory distorts, how pride makes people unkind, and how two people can be right about each other and still wrong about themselves. ## Choi Woo-shik and Kim Da-mi, perfectly out of step The leads are superb. Choi Woo-shik plays Ung as easygoing on the surface and wounded underneath, a man who hides hurt behind a lazy smile. Kim Da-mi gives Yeon-su a prickly, defensive energy, a woman who has spent her life being responsible and has little patience for people who seem not to try. Their bickering is funny, but the real pleasure is how quickly it can turn into longing. The pair had worked together before, and their comfort with each other shows. Their scenes feel lived in, full of private jokes and old resentments that the script does not need to explain. ## Where the summer slows down The show's gentleness is both a strength and a limitation. Episodes often hinge on small conversations rather than events, and the middle stretch repeats its central push-and-pull more than necessary. The secondary threads, including Ji-ung's own quiet feelings and a subplot involving an idol played by Roh Jeong-eui, are less engaging than the main story and sometimes feel like filler. Viewers who want high stakes or big plot turns will find it uneventful. Those who enjoy mood and character will find it absorbing. ## Who should watch Our Beloved Summer? It is ideal for fans of slow-burn [romance](https://celluloidscore.com/genres/romance/), second-chance love stories and character-driven Korean dramas. It is gentle viewing with only mild language and emotional themes around family, loneliness and self-worth. At 16 episodes, it rewards a relaxed pace rather than an intense binge, and it is available on [Netflix](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/platform/netflix/). If you enjoy it, try these next: - [Because This Is My First Life](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/because-this-is-my-first-life-review/), another thoughtful K-drama romance about adults working out what they want from love. - [Fight for My Way](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/fight-for-my-way-review/), for a friendship-to-romance story between two people who have known each other for years. ## The verdict Our Beloved Summer is a warm, bittersweet romance with a smart documentary conceit and two leads who make every conversation count. Its pace is leisurely and some subplots feel thin, but as a study of first love revisited, it is one of the most charming K-dramas of its season. **Rating: 4/5** ## Related title - [Our Beloved Summer (2021)](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/our-beloved-summer/) ## Editorial - [Editorial standards](https://celluloidscore.com/about/editorial-policy/) - [Report a correction](https://celluloidscore.com/about/corrections/)